Riding along the festive mood of the Southern Mindanao Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development Consortium’s (SMAARRDEC) Farm and Industry Encounters Through S&T Agenda (FIESTA), were a bounty of awardees from various competitions during the event.
In the Regional Symposium on Research and Development Highlights (RSRDH), 18 research papers and 4 development papers were presented.
For the best research paper category, Marilou N. Infante, Myrna S. Cantila, and Gloria Vida T. Liwanag of the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office (DA-RFO) XI who presented the paper “Evaluation on the response of selected native durian lines used as rootstock against Phytophthora palmivora Butler” won 1st place with cash prize of P5,000, certificate, and a trophy; followed by Melvin S. Pasaporte, et al. of the University of the Philippines Mindanao (UP-Min) for the paper “Use of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology in the assessment and mapping of bioresources in Davao Region” in 2nd place with cash prize of P3,500, certificate and a trophy; and in 3rd place were Engr. Mark Jude F. Trondillo, et al. of the Southern Philippines Agri-business and Marine and Aquatic School of Technology (SPAMAST) for the paper “Identifying suitable sites for pump irrigation system from open source and shallow tube well in selected areas of Davao del Sur through Geographic Information System (GIS)-based water resources assessment” with cash prize of P2,500, certificate, and a trophy.
In the best development paper category, the 1st place award was garnered by Pearl Ann M. Mancao and Carmelita P. Martinez of the University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP) for the paper “Establishment and management of marine protected area network within Davao City and conservation of biologically important species” with cash prize of P5,000, certificate, and a trophy; in 2nd place were Shenna N. Oberes, et al. of Davao del Norte State College (DNSC) for the paper “Malnutrition reduction initiatives in Panabo City through the complementary foods (DOST-PINOY Products)” with cash prize of P3,500, certificate and a trophy; while in 3rd place were Jessel Cardines, Jose Villar II, Liezl Mae Sanoria, Angelo Pinoy for the paper “Rice Crop Manager: An ICT tool to support decision-making for increase palay yield of farmers at 6%” with cash prize of P2,500, certificate and a trophy.
For the best posters, the winners were: Jeson N. Geroche of Compostela Valley State College (CVSC) for the project “Antagonistic potential of microbial isolates from vermicompost tea” in 1st place receiving a cash prize of P3,000, certificate and a trophy; Jeric Bilita, Roger C. Montepio, Ryan M. Abenoja, and Ben-Hur C. Rafosala of USeP for the project “Development and evaluation of a mechanical cacao (Theogroma cacao) bean fermenter with controlled supplemental heater” in 2nd place receiving a certificate and a trophy; and GMB Raguro and JM Sorrosa of Davao Oriental State College of Science and Technology (DOSCST) for the project “Antibacterial activity of the Sansevieria trifasciata leaf extract against human pathogenic bacteria” in 3rd place receiving a certificate and a trophy.
The winner in Body Painting-Best Commodity Model 2017 was Cheryl G. Nacion of DOSCST representing the rice commodity getting a cash prize of P3,000 and a certificate. In Sketch Coloring contest, Aprilyn Vanesa Degamo of UP-Min received a cash prize of P2,000 and a certificate.
Special awards for the Best Dressed Booth were awarded to the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office XI for 1st place with a cash prize of P10,000, certificate and a trophy; the Philippine Coconut Authority-Davao Research Center (PCA-DRC) in 2nd place with cash prize of P8,000, certificate and a trophy; and UP-Min for 3rd place with cash prize of P5,000, certificate and a trophy. Special Citation for Best Fishery Research was awarded to Rosario B. Saligan of DNSC for the project “Production of hybrid red tilapia fingerling for brackishwater and marine water culture” receiving a cash prize of P3,000 and certificate.
SMAARRDEC, one of the partners of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD), also celebrated its 30th founding anniversary during the FIESTA event at Abreeza Ayala Mall, Bajada, Davao City.
Conducting FIESTAs in the region seek to provide profitable business ventures for the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the countryside through agricultural S&T innovations. While SMAARRDEC FIESTA serves as a strategy in pushing the commercialization of regional S&T-based products their target markets nationwide.
Other activities held during the SMAARRDEC FIESTA and 30th Anniversary were Technology to People (T2P)/media conference highlighting the technologies Low-cost Mango Picker and Combating Fusarium Wilt through S&T; Business Coaching session on the topic “Increasing Income through Product Value Adding”; and the Farmers and Fisherfolk Forum.